In life, being “successful” has a different meaning to everyone. Some may think of it as making over $12 an hour, while some may define their greatest success as acing an exam. Being “successful” to me, is being emotionally and mentally content with where I am in my life. There are multiple differences between successful and unsuccessful people, and none of them has to do with materialistic items. One thing that makes a successful person who they are is positivity. Optimism is important in every situation, no matter how traumatic or deprecating. We derogate ourselves in a way that can only prevent us from succeeding. Negativity and pessimism can only restrict successful advancements. Aside from being positive, successful people are happy. I explained before that to be successful you must be content with your physical and mental position. I am a firm believer that if you believe in and appreciate yourself, others will too. Additionally, successful people are organized and motivated. You have to know what you want to achieve it, and proper preparation and organization are extremely helpful. Depending on other people for motivation is merely pointless, whereas pushing yourself to do good will get you the farthest. Unsuccessful people are lazy and fail to advocate for themselves. In order to be successful, you have to be flexible. Flexibility, not meaning the ability to bend your body, but being open to other ideas and opinions guides a more creative view in all situations. Stubbornness makes a person hard to work with, especially in areas of argument or negotiation. Successful people are not only kind to themselves, but they are kind to others. Caring for and respecting myself, as well as the people I choose to surround myself with, is something that has always been crucial and meaningful to me. If there is one thing that I will always stress, it is that to be successful you must be kind to everyone, especially yourself.

My name’s Anna Kulak, and I’m a freshman. This class wasn’t my first choice, but it interested me because I like being creative and sharing ideas through writing. I think my organization and creativity would be helpful to the editing staff. After being in this class for over a semester, I was hooked and hope to become an editor in the future.